


Crab The Devil You Know

by endrega_Turtlesse



Series: Ficlets [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Crack, Gen, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Vacation, vacations go wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:06:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28316481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/endrega_Turtlesse/pseuds/endrega_Turtlesse
Summary: Vacations are peaceful, right?Heh. Right.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Ficlets [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073822
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	Crab The Devil You Know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sagana_Rojana_Olt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagana_Rojana_Olt/gifts).



> I don't even remember how this came about, but I made a deal with Sag that if she draws it, I'll write a ficlet.  
> [Link to her absolutely amazing art](https://saganarojanaolt.tumblr.com/post/638488101502746624/tinydevil-crab-for-crab-the-devil-you-know-by)

"Tony?" Bucky looked around, frowning. He was there just a minute ago, Bucky was sure. He just ran back into the beach house to grab more sunscreen, because while Tony's Italian skin may protect him, Bucky's Irish one certainly doesn't.

Tony is nowhere to be found now, though.

Bucky sighs.

"Come on, doll," he calls out. "This ain't funny. Don't make me chase you out."

He cocks his head to the side, listening for any sound Tony might make, but the only thing he can hear is the sound of the waves. He can feel the first tendril of worry coil in his chest, but he pushes it away. He was gone for five minutes, nothing bad could have happened. Granted, it doesn't make sense for Tony to be hiding from him, but maybe he just wandered down the beach and forgot about the time because of a cool rock.

(Yes, that happened before. And no, Bucky does *not* find it cute.)

He sighs again, looking at their cozy recliners pushed up right next to each other. Seems like the lazy afternoon is over. Time to find the wayward genius.  
He starts down the length of the beach, it's nooks and crannies hiding the next bit from him. He's going as fast as he can, but the smooth sand keeps sinking beneath his feet, slowing him down.

He's not worried, though. Tony will be just behind the next bend, crooning over a rock or a shell.

He will.

Bucky can't keep the worry down anymore, though. Yes, Tony will become visible in just a moment, but... But he's been walking for five minutes, at least. He's much quicker than Tony, even on sand. And he really wasn't gone for longer than five minutes. Even if Tony bolted immediately, which would be uncharacteristic of him - he usually needs at least a minute or two to get bored -, well.

Bucky isn't worried, that's the point.

He's been walking for thirty minutes when he gives up. He's just around another bend, a nice stretch in front of him for once, and...

He can't really keep lying to himself. Tony couldn't have come this far.

So, he's worried.

Okay, time for a second opinion. He reaches into his pocket for his phone, only to curse.

"Fuck," he mutters. He put down his phone when he was putting on the sunscreen, didn't he? Yeah, he did.

He closes his eyes for a minute, cursing at himself, but in the end, that doesn't help. He turns around and walks back as fast as he can - not that that's very fast. He already came as fast as he could, and the sand is still the same. Still, he puts his everything into it, hoping against hope that Tony might be waiting for him on the porch.

Of course, the moment he sets eyes on the house, that feeble hope evaporates. There's no sign of Tony, either on the recliner or the porch, and the door slightly open just the way he left it when he saw Tony gone.

He rushes to the stairs, his mind now singularly on his phone inside. They knew it was stupid not to bring their gear, didn't they? But they wanted a vacation, a _real_ vacation, and now look at the result. Avengers are never off duty, they should have learnt that by now.

The moment he steps off the last stair, though, a voice stops him.

"Ah, ah," someone says, and Bucky almost falls back down the stairs, he startles so badly. "Not so quick, James."

"What the fuck," Bucky mutters, looking around with wide eyes. There's no one there, just as there wasn't anyone when the house came into view.

The voice laughs, a rich, raspy laugh.

"Down here, James," it says, and Bucky looks down. "Hello, yes," the tiny red crab waves at him with the trident held in its claws, its hornes glinting in the sunlight.

"What the fuck," Bucky whispers again. He's pretty sure he fell asleep in the sun and got a sunstroke, and now he's hallucinating.

"I'm not a hallucination," the crab says, its voice somehow amused.

_What the fuck,_ Bucky thinks again, and the crab laughs at him.

"Please tell me you can't read my mind," Bucky tells it weakly, but the crab just laughs again.

"Now, James," it waves with its trident again. "I have come to bargain."

"What," Bucky says, flat, his eyes narrowed.

"Mmhm," the crab hums. "I believe I have something you consider important. Or at least, you were shouting for him loud enough to wake me up. So now, pay."

**Author's Note:**

> I feast on kudos and comments, feed the beeeeaaaaaast <3


End file.
